Four Uses for Quotation Marks

1. For a Direct Quotation:

"Please," I begged, "don't go away."

My mother told me, "There are plenty of fish in the sea."

"I'm never going there again," said Irene.

If the quotation is not written as one unit, the punctuation changes:

"Stay away from that guy," my best friend warned me. "He will break your heart."

2. For material copied word for word from a source:

According to Science magazine, "In an academic achievement test given to 600 sixth graders in eight countries, U.S kids scored last in mathematics, sixth in science, and fourth in geography."

3. For titles of shorter works, such as short stories, an essay, a newspaper or magazine article, a poem or a song, chapters of books:

"A Modest proposal," an essay by Jonathan Swift, is a masterpiece of satire.

If you are writing the title of a longer book, movie, magazine, play, television show, underline the title or put in italics (in print):

Many famous short stories have first appeared in the New Yorker.

Many famous short stories have first appeared in the New Yorker. (in handwriting)

4. For words used in a special way:

When you said "never", did you mean it?

If you are using a quotation within a quotation, use single quotation marks:

My brother complained, "Every time we get in trouble, Mom has to say 'I told you so.' "

Ten Basic Rules for Capitalization

Capitalize the first word of every sentence.

Yesterday we saw our first soccer game.

2. Capitalize the first word of a direct quotation.

The teacher said, " You have been chosen for the part."

Capitalize the names of persons and the titles of persons.

Proper names:

George Hendrickson

Professional titles when they are used with proper names;

I was a patient of Dr. Wilson. But: I was a patient of that doctor.

Term for a relative when it is used in the place of the proper name.

I told Grandfather I would meet him later.

But: terms for relatives are not capitalized if a pronoun, article, or adjective is used with the name.

I told my grandfather I would meet him later.

Capitalize the names of specific things and places.

Specific buildings:

I went to the Jamestown Post office. But: I went to the post office.

Specific streets, states, countries:

She lives on Park Avenue. But: She lives in the same street as my Mum and Dad.

Specific institutions:

The loan is from the First National Bank.

Capitalize days of the week, months of the year, and holidays. Do not capitalize the names of seasons.

The last Thursday in November is the Thanksgiving Day.

But: I cannot wait until spring.

6. Capitalize the names of all the languages, nationalities, races, religions, sacred terms.

My friend, who is Ethiopian, speaks very little English.

Capitalize the first word and every important word in a title. Do not capitalize articles, prepositions, or short connecting words in the title.

For Whom the Bell Tolls is a famous novel by Ernst Hemingway.

Capitalize historical events, periods, and documents.

The American Revolution, the Bill of Rights, the Colonial period

Capitalize the north, south east, and west when they are used as places rather than directions.

He comes from the Midwest.

But: The farm is about twenty miles west of the city.

Capitalize brand names.

Lipton's Noodle Soup

But: noodle soup

A REVIEW OF THE METHODS FOR COMBINING SENTENCES AND CLAUSES

Coordination

Method I: Using a Comma with a Coordinating Conjunction

He cooked the dinner, and she washed the dishes.